URUSEI YATSURA DISC 3, EPISODES 9 – 12 Ep. 9, Story 17: “Princess Kurama, Sleeping Beauty” Kurama, the name of the new major character introduced in this episode, is the first of many references to Minamoto Yoshitsune, brother of Minamoto Yoritomo, who founded the first military government in Japan, at Kamakura, in 1192. “Kurama” is most likely derived from Kuramayama (Mt. Kurama), which is where Yoshitsune, under the name of Ushiwaka Maru (which he took in his youth, in a ceremony called “genpuku,” or coming-of-age; see ep. 12, story 24), is supposed to have received training in swordsmanship from the Tengu, legendary goblin spirits. Tengu are also referred to as “Karasutengu,” or “Crow goblins,” because they resemble crows in appearance. The Tengu who reside on Mt. Kurama are additionally called, appropriately enough, “Kuramatengu,” which is what Princess Kurama is--with an extraterrestrial twist. Up Close and Personal: When Ataru leans over Kurama's sleeping form and says “Gotaimen,” it is a reference to “Punch De Date,” a TV matchmaking program which was popular at about the same time as Urusei Yatsura. A given couple would come on-stage, their identities kept secret from one another by a curtain. They would talk to one another to find out if there was any mutual interest. If there was, then the MC would say “Gotaimen!” (first face-to-face meeting), the barrier would be raised, and the couple would meet face-to-face for the first time. First Impression: Kurama's first impression of Shinobu is not at all flattering. Kurama calls Shinobu “Zashikiwarashi,” which are household guardian spirits in the Toohoku (“Northeast”) region of Japan, which is the area of Honshuu (the largest of the four main islands of Japan) north of Kantoo, and is known for being cold and covered in snow a lot of the time. These spirits typically have the appearance of a plain, immature, round-faced, rosy-cheeked girl with a bob haircut, which happens to describe Shinobu very nicely at this point in the series. Anima/Animus: The “Anima Ray” that Kurama uses on Ataru to try to change his personality is a reference to a major theme of Jungian psychology: that everyone has elements of both sexes in them. Jung refers to these elements as “Anima” (female) and “Animus” (male). In oversimplified form, the degree to which these traits manifest in a given person determines that person's sexual persona. Ep. 9, Story 18: “Athletics in Women's Hell!” And on top of this, tons of homework: Depending on the school, students often have the responsibility of cleaning up their classrooms after school. Students may be divided into groups in a given classroom, and those groups rotate their responsibilities. High schools in particular don't hire custodians as a general rule, so the students have to clean up instead! Old Baldy: Ataru calling the giant-size Shinobu “Dainyuudo” is a reference to a type of “Yookai,” or evil spirit, typified by its baldness. The reason Ataru can apply the term to Shinobu is partly due to her size, and also because her haircut looks like the silken artificial “hair caps” that monks would wear atop their shaven heads. Taira no Kiyomori, a leader of the Heike Clan (again, see ep. 12, story 24) was called Dainyuudo because he was monstrously successful in making his 1 clan powerful. Ep. 10, Stories 19-20: “Pitter Patter Christmas Eve” Shades of “Ima Trapp”: The name of the girl Megane and the gang create is, no surprise, a pun. “Kumino Otoko” literally means “Men of the Classroom,” but Ataru is so blinded by lust that he doesn't notice this obvious hint. No Time to Write: Normally, a Japanese letter is supposed to begin with greetings appropriate to the season. However, to simplify matters, “zenryaku,” which means “the beginning of a letter,” is often used. Café Pigmon: This may or may not be a reference to the creature Pigmon from Ultraman. (Given the other references to Tsuburaya Productions that appear in both the manga and the anime, it seems unlikely that this would be coincidence.) Ep. 11, Stories 21-22: “Ataru Genji Goes to the Heian Capital” Kadomatsu: The “New Year's Pine” is made of bamboo stems and pine leaves, used for decorating entrances of houses on the New Year, to invite the god of that particular year into that house. Poetic Cards: The card game Ataru, Shinobu, Lum, Sakura and Cherry are playing at the beginning of this episode is based on a volume of poems, the Hyakuninisshu (100-Poets' Collection), compiled by Fujiwara no Teika, who collected one great poem from the works of each of 100 greatest Japanese poets. The game is a popular New Year's pastime, wherein one person reads the first part of a poem from that collection and the players try to be the first to find the card containing that poem. Ataru, however, is playing to lose. The full versions of the two poems Cherry quotes are as follows: “Tago no ura ni uchiirete mireba shirotae no Fuji no takane ni yuki wa furitsutsu” --Yamabe no Akahito (dates unknown) “From the seashore of Tago, if you ride a boat on the ocean, you will see the beautiful white snow falling atop Mt. Fuji.” “Haru sugite natsu kinikerashi shirotae no koromo hosuchoo ama no Kaguyama” --Jitoo Tennoo (Empress (later Emperor) Jitoo, AD. 645-702) “Spring has gone, it seems to be Summer already, because I see white cloth being hung out to dry on Kagu Mountain.” Author, Author: It's not certain, but Murasaki Shikibu, author of Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) is believed to have lived between AD. 978-1014 or 1016. She wrote Genji Monogatari in the beginning of the 11th Century. She married once, to one Fujiwara Nobutaka, and had a daughter. But Fujiwara's death left her a widow. After his death, she worked for Shooshi, the daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga, and also the luckier of the Emperor's two wives, Teishi being 2 the name of the other. Shooshi's charmed existence seems to have rubbed off favorably on Murasaki, because she started writing Genji Monogatari to entertain the Empress Shooshi, and the more the Empress asked what would happen next, the longer the story got, until eventually the masterpiece resulted. The end of this episode says that Murasaki Shikibu never married, but that's just taking license for the sake of humor. Genji Monogatari, commonly considered to be the world's first true novel, depicts life in the Heian Imperial Court in the 10th Century, roughly 100 years before the story was actually written. It is also considered the single greatest work of Japanese literature. The Heian Era began in AD. 794 and ended in AD. 1192, with the establishment of the first military government at Kamakura. The Heian capital was established at Kyoto, and the Emperor resided there until the beginning of the Meiji Era (AD. 1868), when the Imperial Residence moved to Tokyo. The Awa Odori is a type of dancing that originated in Tokushima Prefecture (Southwest Honshuu), and may not have anything to do with Kyoto at all. Take-out: We translated “Daihanten” as “Chinese restaurant,” but its original Chinese meaning seems to be “hotel.” However, it seems to have been misinterpreted in Japan, and the literal reading of the Kanji (Chinese characters) was used to get the meaning of this word in Japanese. Take-offs: Hikaru Genji, the title character of Genji Monogatari, was the son of the Emperor by a favored concubine who died soon after his birth. However, a fortuneteller told him that remaining the Emperor's son would be unlucky for him, so he changed his name to Genji, that of a servant, and lowered his status as well. One of his sons, by his mother-in-law, Fujitsubo, would eventually become Emperor, though most people believed that this child was the son of the Emperor himself. This should give the viewer an idea of why Ataru was cast as Genji, though the literary figure had much more class, and was much more successful with the ladies. Too no Chuujoo was Genji's best friend, sharing a similar rank, and every bit the playboy that Genji was. They shared numerous escapades together, but eventually they would become rivals. Therefore, it seems fitting that Mendou Shutaro should be cast as Too no Chuujoo. “Tsubo,” as in Genji's mother-in-law, Fujitsubo, means a woman of high rank. “Tsubone” designates a lady-in-waiting, a servant, to a tsubo or other person of high status. Hence the name, “Shinobu no Tsubone.” The legend of Momotaro (“Peach Boy”) says that an old childless couple, Ojiisan and Obaasan, found a large peach drifting down a stream one day, when Obaasan went to do her laundry. When they opened it, out sprang Momotaro When he grew up, he went to hunt the Oni, who had stolen all the wealth of the people years before. Along the way, he met a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant, all of whom joined him when he gave them one of his “Nippon-ichi no kibidango” (Steamed shiratamako flour with white sugar on top; they taste like rice-cakes.) When they 3 reached Oni-ga-shima (“Oni Island”) in the Inland Sea, a great battle took place, and Momotaro took all the treasures back to the people from whom they had been stolen. He also ensured that Ojiichan and Obaachan would be well taken care of. All the Oni have navels that stick out, known as “debeso” in Japanese.